LRB-3119/1
EAW:skw&wlj
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
2019 Assembly BILL 559
October 23, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives Dittrich, Murphy, Felzkowski,
James, Kulp, Kurtz, Magnafici, Milroy, Ramthun, Tusler, Tranel,
Thiesfeldt and Tittl. Referred to Committee on Family Law.
AB559,1,8 1An Act to repeal 48.422 (4); to amend 48.31 (2), 48.31 (4), 48.356 (1), 48.38 (5)
2(a), 48.38 (5m) (a), 48.415 (intro.), 48.415 (2) (a) 1., 48.415 (4) (a), 48.415 (6) (b),
348.422 (1), 48.422 (5), 48.424 (3), 48.424 (4) (intro.), 938.356 (1), 938.38 (5) (a)
4and 938.38 (5m) (a); and to create 48.02 (5e), 48.13 (15), 48.415 (1) (a) 4., 48.415
5(1) (a) 5., 48.415 (3m) and 48.415 (11) of the statutes; relating to: grounds for
6finding a child in need of protection or services or for terminating parental
7rights, right to a jury trial in a termination of parental rights proceeding, and
8permanency plan reviews.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill changes the grounds for finding that a child is in need of protection or
services under the Children's Code and for involuntarily terminating parental rights
(TPR), eliminates the right to a jury trial in a TPR proceeding, and changes the
process for permanency plan reviews under the Children's Code and Juvenile Justice
Code.
Grounds for CHIPS
Under current law, the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the
Children's Code (juvenile court) has exclusive original jurisdiction over a child who
is alleged to be in need of protection or services (CHIPS) that can be ordered by the

juvenile court and who meets certain grounds. This bill creates a new ground for
CHIPS where a child is found to be a drug-affected child. Under the bill, a
drug-affected child is defined as a child who suffered prenatal exposure to a
controlled substance or a child whose basic needs and safety have been adversely
affected by a parent's or guardian's chronic and severe use of alcohol or a controlled
substance.
Grounds for TPR
Under current law, in a proceeding for involuntary TPR, the juvenile court must
determine whether grounds exist for TPR. One of the grounds for TPR under current
law is failure to assume parental responsibility for the child, which is established by
proving that the parent or the person who may be the parent of the child has not had
a substantial parental relationship with the child. “Substantial parental
relationship” is defined in current law as the acceptance and exercise of significant
responsibility for the daily supervision, education, protection, and care of the child.
In evaluating whether a person has had a substantial parental relationship with the
child, current law allows the juvenile court to consider certain factors, including
whether the person has expressed concern for or interest in the support, care, or
well-being of the child and whether, with respect to a person who is or may be the
father of the child, the person has expressed concern for or interest in the support,
care, or well-being of the mother during her pregnancy.
This bill changes the factor related to expressing concern for or interest in the
support, care, or well-being of the child to whether the person has provided care or
support for the child. The bill eliminates the factor of whether the person has
expressed concern for or interest in the support, care, or well-being of the mother
during her pregnancy. The bill instead provides that proving that a person who is
or may be the father of the child failed to provide care and support for the mother
during her pregnancy, without reasonable cause, establishes abandonment of a
child, which is a ground for TPR under current law. Also under the bill, proving that
a parent has failed without reasonable cause to pay court-ordered payments of child
support establishes abandonment of the child.
Other grounds for TPR under current law include 1) continuing need of
protection or services (continuing CHIPS), if a child is placed outside of the home for
15 of the last 22 months under a court order; or 2) a continuing denial of periods of
physical placement or visitation, if a court order denying physical placement or
visitation has been in place for one year. Under current law, the timeline for both of
these grounds begins when a court order is entered in a CHIPS or juvenile in need
of protection or services (JIPS) proceeding. Under this bill, the timeline for these two
grounds can also begin when the court enters an order for temporary custody, when
a child or juvenile is placed outside the home under a consent decree, or when a
court-approved permanency plan places a child outside the home.
The bill creates a new ground for involuntary TPR where the child is a
drug-affected child, which is established by showing that the child has been found
to be a drug-affected child in a CHIPS proceeding. Under the bill, parental rights
may not be terminated if a parent proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that
he or she enrolled in a substance abuse treatment or recovery program within 90

days of the birth of the child or the placement of the child outside of the home under
a CHIPS order, and that he or she continues to maintain substantial compliance with
the substance abuse treatment or recovery program.